Clients who feel their dreams are crushed and Realtors who are frustrated and looking for a Hail Mary.
These are the calls I have been getting over the last few months.
I wish this wasn't the case in our industry but unfortunately it is. A hopeful borrower goes to get preapproved for a house and the Loan Officer who they speak to issues a preapproval letter to the Realtor for X amount of dollars without efficiently preapproving them and not reviewing any documentation or having key conversations with the borrower to fully understand the scenario.
The Realtor spends hours and days showing the client homes until they finally find what they believe is "The One".
Contracts are written up and sent to all parties. Everyone waits for the deal to be submitted only to find out that suddenly it appears either before submission or after initial underwriting the deal doesn't work. The Loan Officer delivers the unfortunate news to the client or Realtor and the hysteria begins.
I cannot believe the amount of calls I am getting because of this exact scenario over and over again.
When I preapprove a client I make sure that I am checking all factors involved including credit, income, assets and most importantly a comfort level for payment. Unless I see the whole picture I can't determine which loan product would be the most beneficial for my borrower. It is only after I have discussed all of this with the borrower that I issue a preapproval letter.
No Realtor wants to spend their valuable time showing homes to a client who they assume is preapproved and turns out not to be. This can be devastating for your relationship with the Realtor on the sellers side as well.
Sometimes I am contacted early enough in the process to rework the numbers and figure out what the qualifications are and other times I am literally called during the 4th quarter when the deal is days away from closing.
Thankfully I have been able to turn each call into a closing.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the preapproval process and how it benefits your borrower to confidently go forward with a transaction they are comfortable with and how key it is in building trusting relationships with Realtor partners.
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